Page "Warren G. Harding" Paragraph 6

Warren Gamaliel Harding was born November 2, 1865, in Blooming Grove, Ohio.

His paternal ancestors, mostly ardent Baptists, hailed from Clifford, Pennsylvania and had migrated to Ohio in 1820.

Nicknamed " Winnie ", he was the eldest of eight children born to Dr. George Tryon Harding, Sr. ( 1843 – 1928 ) and Phoebe Elizabeth ( Dickerson ) Harding ( 1843 – 1910 ).

His mother, a devout Methodist, was a midwife who later obtained her medical license.

His father, never quite content with his current job or possessions, was forever swapping for something better, and was usually in debt ; he owned a farm, taught at a rural school north of Mount Gilead, Ohio and also acquired a medical degree and started a small practice.

It was rumored in Blooming Grove that one of Harding's great-grandmothers might have been African American.

Harding's great-great grandfather Amos claimed that a thief, who had been caught in the act by the family, started the rumor as an attempted extortion.

Eventually, Harding's family moved to Caledonia, Ohio, where his father then acquired The Argus, a local weekly newspaper.

It was at The Argus where, from the age of 10, Harding learned the basics of the journalism business.

In 1878, his brother Charles and sister Persilla died, presumably from typhoid.